1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a device for use in exercising and developing finger and other muscles and has particular reference to such a device for use in exercising the finger, wrist and arm muscles of pianists and players of other keyboard musical instruments in order to accelerate and make more effective the crucial period of acquiring basic technique skills and also to aid in the retraining of pianists with previusly acquired bad habits.
2. Background of the Invention
To achieve proficiency in playing a piano or other keyboard musical instrument, a player must practice over long periods of time to develop suitable finger, wrist and arm muscle strength and coordination to the point where the coordination becomes automatic and the muscles perform to produce the desired sounds without undue tiring.
During supervised weekly lessons, burdened with many problems in need of correction, the physical approach of the student player is usually neglected, and during the rest of the week, when the student is without supervision, he or she tends to build incorrect habits. As a result, the process of acquiring basic piano playing techniques, which is crucial for proper future playing skills, becomes too complicated, too long, too ineffective, and even potentially dangerous in that it can lead to the onset of tendonitis. This is inflammation of the lining of the tendon sheath and the enclosed tendon resulting from muscle overuse and misuse.
I have observed that piano teachers do not use any physical aids to facilitate proper piano playing techniques. Also, piano students have not had any tool or device for proper self control when practicing alone. My proposed device is easily attachable to a piano or the like and serves to train proper muscles of the fingers and wrists during piano lessons and also as a tool for self control by a student practicing alone, thus preventing bad habits from building up as well as overtiring of the muscles.
My novel device forces the student to follow my (Niks) technique of piano playing, the main principle of which involves resting of the arm on two points of support without tension in the wrist area, the two points being the shoulder joint at one end and the fingers resting on the keys at the opposite end. The effectiveness of this technique was demonstrated in a medical experiment conducted in 1989 at Los Amigos Medical Center in Downey, Calif. and favorably reported by the Department of Pathokinesiology of that center. It was also demonstrated during a period of experimental use by students and teachers using my device.